When Her Death Couldn't Break Him (Cecilia and Nathaniel) novel Chapter 2051

Wealth or not, even the most successful mother ends up babysitting, Cecilia reminded herself. Elena, after all, spent half her days wrangling two toddlers who weren't even her own.

Four daughters-in-law, eight grandkids—my house will be louder than a circus ring.

And heaven forbid they start squabbling over shares of the family company... The mere prospect turned the air around her slightly metallic.

She started feeling dizzy, the world rocking as if it couldn't decide which reality to land on.

Beside her, Elliot was lost in a parallel fantasy of his own: When I'm big, I'll marry a girl just like Dahlia—sweet, polite, helpful. Then everyone in our house will laugh more than they argue. The vision painted a smile across his small face.

So the woman and the boy stood together on the dim porch—one tall, one small—both staring after a taillight long gone, both dreaming of futures woven from hope, fear, and the soft glow of an April evening.

Nathaniel's voice drifted from behind them, warm yet teasing. "What are the two of you doing posted at the doorway? Isn't it freezing out here?"

The mellow baritone snapped mother and son from their spell. Cecilia startled, pressing a hand to her chest, then managed a shaky laugh.

"We're fine," she answered, though a faint tremor still clung to her words.

Elliot pouted, eyes clouding. "My heart feels colder than the air. Mommy, could you invite Dahlia over again to play soon?" The plea slipped out before he could tame the longing in his voice.

Just then, Jonathan stepped from the study, rubbing the blue light of hours spent coding from his eyes.

"Play what?" he asked, one brow rising behind thin wire-rim glasses.

He had spent the afternoon wrestling algorithms, catching only fragments of "Dahlia" and "playing" through the half-open door.

Seeing his brother, Elliot's stomach knotted with a competition he could not name.

"N-nothing," he stammered, gaze skittering away.

Elliot knew his sketches and songs could never outshine Jonathan's trophies. The last thing he wanted was his gifted brother discovering Dahlia.

Jonathan read the lie at once yet chose mercy, letting the silence settle.

To him, Elliot was a simple-minded kid. He wouldn't have any secrets.

Cecilia, blind to the undercurrent, simply found both boys impossibly adorable and felt her heart swell with quiet pride.

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